You stole my heart (I don't think I can take it back)
by alittlemorei
Summary: Kara sings a love song, Lena misunderstands everything and James wants an answer. or The College AU where it's Valentine's Day and Kara is singing love songs in exchange for money to the new newspaper project.
1. Thinking Out Loud

"It's her", James said and sighed.

Kara looked at the many students without kwoning what to look for. The first person with the deepest green eyes, according to her friend, that Kara could remember was Lucy Lane, her sister's roommate also bartender of the best cafeteria frequented by National City University students. Does James have a crush on Lucy? That woudn't be weird. Lucy was no doubt funny and very attractive - although Kara thinks she's a pain in the ass sometimes. A true friend however. James and Lucy would be a nice couple that is to say if James was talking about her. It was already the fourth sigh Kara heard from her friend and all she could do was lean slightly to get the line out of her vision and see who was in that shift. Strange. It wasn't Lucy. Wasn't the morning shift hers? Who else could James be talking about? Imra? No, James is her classmate. Unless he was talking about… No.

"Who?" Please don't say her, please don't say her.

"In the line, her", he sighed again and Kara honestly couldn't stand it anymore. Who is he? A fifteen-year-old teenager?

But then she sighed too. The person who kept James's eyes stuck since they got in the place, was not a bartender, os but was waiting to order her coffee just like them but a bit further ahead in the line. She had her attention swallowed by a book held by one hand while the other takes care to pull the long black hair strands away from her face. Oh no. You got to be kidding me. Lena Luthor. The same girl Kara had a huge crush ever since. Or at least since she joined NCU. Also her bedroom door neighbor.

"Do you have a crush on her?" The blonde tried to be more discreet, but this was not one of the best places for such a revelation also not the best moment to control her feelings.

"Speak lower!", James's eyes widened in an expression Kara would find funny in another moment. "Do you have a problem with that?"

YES!

"No, I don't", disregarding all the time he judged her by her last name, of course. What's different now? "Why would I?

"For no reason", he scratched the back of his neck and raised his eyebrows, Kara knew what was coming. "So... You're still going to do me that, aren't you?"

"Do what?"

Holding a guitar on her back it was something hard to forget, but Kara could not stop trying to escape the situation even more after she knew who she would be singing a love song for in exchange for some money. If anyone asked, the new university newspaper project really was in need of money and even at risk of not happening. And who else would be hero but Kara? And why not take the Valentine's Day to get some cash? Damn Valentine's Day.

"You know, that thing you and Winn are doing today for the new project?"

"I, huh… Of course I'll do it" she laughed almost like a maniac, James was a little scared.

"Are you sure?" he asked suspicious.

"Why not? Earlier today I played a valentine's song to Alex. I doubt anything is stranger than that."

"Alright then… One more thing", he reached into his backpack pocket to give a red heart-shaped card in Kara's hands. "What are you waiting for?" James looked at her impatiently.

"Nothing, I'm on it. I'm on it", she laugh again and turned to her new victim.

Golly! Why is she doing this again?

Kara held the card tight in her hands looking at James' calligraphy right in the center. There was just the question would you go on a date with me? a place and a number that represented the day of tomorrow by the night. James, at least, could have been less cheesy. Jesus, she would do it better than this. She took a deep breath more than once before looking at the girl who had already received her order and was in the back of the cafeteria. How embarrassing would that be? Couldn't she fake a faint? No. It was a promise. Kara never broke a promise. And James was paying her of course. Maybe she was so focused on the book that she would not even realize the music was for her. Come on, Kara. Lena would obviously notice. How unlucky Winn not be here this time. The blonde had been standing in the middle of the road so long that she could feel the look of her friend making a hole in her back. You should be doing this today, Kara. When Kara finally removed the guitar from the cover, James's relief seemed almost visible in the air. Did he think she would give up? Kara never gave up on anything. She really wanted this time though. But no. She moved on with the guitar already thinking to which university she could transfer. How could she look at Lena's face again after this?

Already in front of the table of her neighbor's door she started the firsts music chords of Thinking Out Loud releasing the attention of the other girl in the book which seemed her only object of interest besides her coffee. Lena watched her with a surprised look and her face was filled with an intense blush. Kara hoped she would at least not get mad the aspiring reporter certainly thought her chances with Lena were now possibly none. She finished the song and threw the card on Lena's table not even giving the engineering student time to react to the scene. Kara immediately ran away to outside the establishment without having the chance to hear some applause that came around and let alone witness the shy smile that was on the face of the girl for whom James unfortunately had a crush.

The blonde found the boy outside, holding two coffees and an expectation that Kara could not even look at.

"You did it so good, Kara, thank you very much. Do you think she will say yes?" He asked with a huge smile for Kara.

"You're welcome", Kara tried to answer by hiding the storm of emotions she felt with false enthusiasm and a laugh. Because of course she would be the help to get together her friend and the girl for whom she fell for. "I'm sure she will."

No wonder Alex sometimes said she was a too good person.

Much later, walking briskly down the hallway of the dorm, Kara hoped to succeed in her plan to avoid Lena. She saw the door in front of her closed. The engineering student should still be in the last few minutes of class. The engineering student still had to be in the last few minutes of class giving Kara enough time to hide in her bedroom before she would come. Kara knew she couldn't avoid her forever, but she would try for as long as possible. She grabbed the door handle of her bedroom, relieved that she could finally rest from the rush that had been her day torn between playing countless songs and running away from Lena, when a voice stopped all her thoughts.

"You never gave me a chance to let you know my answer."

The blonde turned instantly to face Lena propped on her own door, offering a smile amused by the mess that was Kara herself. Was Lena all this time in her bedroom?

"Oh, yes", the journalism student laughed, losing control of her words that seemed to stuck in her throat.

"You know, I'd really love to go on a date with you, Kara," Lena smiled and winked at the blonde before opening her room and entering.

Kara could only smile as her stomach flipped and her heart stuttered in her chest. Lena want to go on a date with me. Lena want to go on a dat-

Oh golly. Was the card not signed?

How would she tell this to James?


	2. Fool for you

"What's so interesting about the ceiling?" Nia asked looking at the expression on Kara's face that seemed pained by the amount of pressure that appeared to be over her eyebrows almost overlapping each other.

"I made everything harder when I just wanted to help. Now I need to undo a misunderstanding but I also don't want to. I'll end up sad in one way or another but it can be even worse if I don't do anything but I don't know. It's all my fault, I had that stupid idea and thought it might work", Kara sighed and Nia was about to interrupt assuming that she would continue her rambling but Kara was silent, still lying on her bed, her hands resting on stomach while her eyes were at a random point in the dark beams above her.

"Kara, I need more details to help you", Nia moved from her own bed to sit on the edge of her roommate's bed. "Is it about what you and Winn were doing today?"

"Yeah."

"Did anything about your newspaper project go wrong?"

"No, but I can't say the same about my love life project."

Nia's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with one hand in a slightly dramatic expression, already guessing that Kara's big crush was involved in it somehow. Otherwise, the younger student thought Kara wouldn't look so shaken.

"Oh my god, don't tell me it's Lena."

"I'd like to say it's not, but who else could it be?"

"Mike?" Nia watched Kara's face contort at the thought. "Ok, you have a point there. What happened?"

Kara turned the body on the mattress to the opposite side of Nia, shrinking against the wall. "One of the music requests was for her", she muttered hoping that her roommate wouldn't hear, because just then the truth seemed to be revealing in front of her eyes, how ridiculous was the situation she made. How many misunderstandings she and Winn made that day? Kara moaned against the pillow. _Why the hell did she think that an idea inspired by some Glee episode could work? _

"Holy shit, Kara. Is that what I heard? Wait a second, did you take that request?" Nia approached to hear the answer.

"Yes, but it gets worse", Kara moved again, now with her back to the wall, in order to finally face the other student, only to end up finding in her face an amused expression with great expectations for what this confusion had become. _At least she wouldn't be disappointed. _"She understood everything wrong. Lena thought _I_ _was_ _inviting her on a date_."

"What did she say?"

"She ... she said she'd love to go on a date with me", Kara almost smiled as she let herself forget the rest of the situation because this seemed to be the most surreal point of her day, after all.

"But this is not bad, right? I mean, you've been trying to get enough nerve up to do it a long time. Is not that what you wanted?"

"Yeah but also what James wanted. And now he thinks he's going on a date with Lena and she thinks he's going on a date with me and I-" she sighed.

"-want to go on a date with her", Nia saw Kara's bright eyes with the thought. "You should talk to her, you should explain the whole thing."

"I know."

"Explain that in spite of the situation, you wish you were the one who invited her on a date," Nia tapped lightly on Kara's shoulder. "I doubt Lena would say no to you."

"But James?"

"He's a grown man, Kara, James can handle it." Nia frowned and pressed her lips together.

"What she would think of me after this huge mess?"

"Now you're just making everything harder."

"I am", Kara looked at Nia's face thinking of how lucky she was to have her as a roommate. "When did you become so wise?"

"Kara, this was pretty simple, actually, "Nia laughed." But since you asked, I always was."

"And about you and Querl?"

"Shut up."

Kara saw her friend's figure at the door of the cafeteria and immediately froze. Her mind threw into a spiral of excuses to avoid any conversation while her stomach seemed to be wrapped up in nervousness. She didn't think she'd have to deal with her mess so early that day. Golly, she needed coffee first (she needed courage, too). James was smiling as he talked to Winn, gesturing a little more than usual. He looked happy and excited, very excited. And Kara was about to ruin it. No, she could wait a little longer, talk to Lena first. She couldn't ruin this for James, at least ... But everything would be even harder if she did later, he might feel even worse. Or not, maybe Kara could wait until lunch. _Argh, why did it have to be so difficult?_

"Hey, Kara."

_Oh no, _Winn saw her.

"Hey guys", The journalism student smiled as she shoved her glasses up her nose and approached the pair.

"So I was hoping you could help me with something," James told her, squeezing her shoulder lightly. "Winn and I have disagreed about bringing flowers tonight or not. He thinks it's too much for a first date."

Kara turned to the other friend who had his face twisted, his lips tight and his brow wrinkled. He seemed to say in his silence _I'm sorry. _Of course, her crush for the engineering student was no secret between them, even more so Winn, her best friend since high school.

"Oh, I- "Kara could not contain herself and laughed at her nervousness. "I guess I'm not the right person for such a thing, but ... i think I agree with Winn."

"Yeah, I see," James frowned thoughtfully and then smiled again cheerfully patting Winn's back. "Oh man, this is going to be a big night."

Kara thought her stomach was moving inside her body. She smiled awkwardly and fumbled with her glasses again seeing the almost palpable joy of her friend. Her heart clenched in her aching chest for the chance she would lose with Lena but Kara couldn't ruin it for James. She wouldn't.

It was a little past one o'clock in the afternoon, and Kara had returned to the bedroom to pick up some books she forgot, when she found her unlocking her door. Kara was a coward. An absolute coward. Her heart beat fiercely against her ribs and she just wanted to run away, where no one knew her name. _Her courage seemed to have done just that. _But no. Instead of fleeing as her mind screamed for her to do, Kara marched toward Lena, determined to fix that misunderstanding.

"Lena."

"Hey, Kara," she smiled, her smile so bright that Kara took a little time to think of something else. "Excited for tonight?"

Kara saw the other girl's cheeks turn redder, while she still smiled slightly tilting her head, looking a little ashamed. And then her chest was agitated, something inside her was enveloping itself and it hurted, it hurted for what she was about to do.

"Actually, I have something to say", she saw Lena's expression slipping a little and she almost regretted it, but she didn't give up. "It was all a misunderstanding, you see, what happened yesterday was nothing more than a plan to raise money for the newspaper, I mean it was Valentine's Day and I thought it would be a good idea to sing love songs from other to another people in exchange for money. I'm sorry, but I was never the one who invited you on a date. Who did it was James, actually. "

"Oh, I see", Lena said and her eyes fell to the doorknob, where Kara could see her fingers tight around the metal. "I'm sorry I misunderstood."

"No, it's all my fault."

"No-now I need to study, Kara, if you don't mind, I have an important test in two hours," she took one last glance at Kara, her face clad in a cold mask.

"Okay."

That was all she could say before Lena disappeard through her door. She thought she heard her heart breaking. Why did she always make the toughest decisions?

Kara was sitting alone in the back of the cafeteria, watching the light of the sun just awakened struggling to break through the leaden clouds, while rain punished the glass. She squeezed the coffee cup on her fingers, thanking the small flow of people that hour of the morning. No one was there to witness her sadness, no one was there to ask her about the huge mess she had pitted against herself. She looked at the young couple there are some tables away, wondering if Lena had gone to meet James the day before. If they could be there one day, occupying a similar place while she watched from afar, whining. she shook her head to brush away those thoughts. She had to stop thinking about it, every time it sounded worse in her mind. if it was a possibility she'd have to get over It.

She sipped her coffee, averting her gaze to the doorway when something in her chest lit up. Her stomach clenched again as she watched her friend Winn with a guitar coming toward her. And he wasn't alone. Lena was with him. He stopped in front of her desk, playing _Fool for you_ while Lena smiled shyly a few steps behind.

"Now it's up to you, ladies," Winn said after the last notes and left, leaving a nervous Lena behind.

Without any reaction, Kara watched her approach and take the seat in front of her.

"Before you say anything, I know what you did, Kara, Winn told me everything," Lena stepped forward before Kara could think of anything to say. "I understand that you wanted to do the right thing and I really admire it, but I just want you to know that you're the one I wanted to go out with."

Kara felt the words gather in her throat and her mind spin with what Lena said. She could only be living a dream.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry for creating this whole mess, I felt really bad about messing things up for James, but I did not realize I did the same to you, I'm so sorry, firs-"

"Kara, that's okay," Lena reached out to touch Kara's hand and smiled. "It's all right, I even dealt with James, don't worry about it."

Kara sighed. "I'm relieved," she laughed, lightly squeezing the engineering student's hand who was also laughing. "So now, asking by myself, would you go on a date with me?"

Lena smiled so big that Kara could see the corner of her eyes crinkling, her smile too bright.

"It's the second time I say that, but just to be sure, I'd love to go on a date with you."


End file.
